Lakewood, NJ – As reported previously on Matzav, on Tuesday, nearly 99 percent of voters in Lakewood rejected a request for an additional school tax levy of $6.2 million to cover the cost of courtesy busing for some 10,000 schoolchildren through the end of the current school year.

7,561 voted no. 108 voted yes.

Now that the $6.2 million referendum question has been answered, another one is looming: What now?

Shannon Mullen, in an Asbury Park Press report, discusses this, explaining that the school district administration, under the supervision of state monitor Michael Azzara, will send out notices to affected families informing them that their children will be without bus service starting Feb. 25.

The affected students live closer to their schools than the minimum distances prescribed by state law to qualify for free busing: at least two miles from an elementary school or 2½ miles from a high school.

The presumption is that thousands of these children, some as young as 5, will either walk or be driven to school by their parents.

Mulllen says that Chief of Police Robert Lawson estimated that an additional 10,000 cars could hit township streets during the morning and afternoon rushes. He has the Township Committee’s support to hire additional crossing guards to supplement officers assigned to traffic duty, but he’s worried he won’t be able to find enough people interested in taking the job.

“It’s very difficult to find them. Lakewood is probably one of the most dangerous places for a crossing guard to work, just because of the traffic and congestion,” Lawson said.